What’s the story?
On a recent edition of The Dirty Sheets podcast, co-presented by Nick and Sportskeeda correspondent Billi Bhatti, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts discussed his desire to work alongside current WWE superstar Bray Wyatt.
Roberts made the comments as part of the podcast in which he also discussed the current WWE product and his feelings towards superstars like Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels. The podcast is available in full on the Dirty Sheets YouTube channel.
In case you didn’t know...
Jake Roberts is a living legend of WWE, wrestling for the promotion back in the 80s and 90s alongside Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage. His relationship with the wrestling business has been troublesome, affected by several bouts of ill-health and drug addiction.
Roberts has been able to maintain a working relationship with the WWE in recent years, benefitting from their drug rehabilitation programme in 2007 and has made sporadic appearances for the promotion ever since, most notably in 2014 when he became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Roberts built a career around his unique wrestling persona throughout much of the 1980s, coming to the ring accompanied by a live python named Damien and delivering eery promos designed to get into the minds of his opponents.
This particular style has been adopted by many superstars throughout the years who prefer to stand apart from the high-energy, cartoonish like gimmicks that WWF/E has become synonymous with. In many ways, the promos currently performed by Bray Wyatt are reminiscent of Roberts’ time as a heel during the WWF’s Golden Era.
The heart of the matter
In the podcast, when pressed on whether he would like to work with any current superstars, Roberts specifically names Wyatt as someone he would ‘love to’ associate himself with. He goes on to mention that he had previously challenged Bray to what he called ‘a battle of interviews’ in which the two stars would throw out different interview segments, challenging the other to respond and raise the bar higher.
Jake also claims that an idea had been previously floated where the two would put on a programme together in some capacity, although no further details are divulged on this. Roberts goes on to talk about how he still has a love for the wrestling business but does not wish to outshine anyone with a full-time return.
Also read: Jake Roberts offers to make Randy Orton unstoppable
What’s next?
While ill-health has all but ended any hopes of a return to the ring for Jake, many fans still believe he has much to offer the current cohort of wrestlers, particularly when it comes to promo delivery.
In terms of any future collaboration between Bray and Roberts, the ball appears to be very much in the WWE’s court. In the podcast, Jake alludes to the fact that if given a chance, he would relish the opportunity to come back into the WWE fold to offer assistance and training to the current roster.
There appears to still be trust issues between the two, given Robert’s troubled history with the company. Provided the WWE can overcome this, there may still be room for the master of the DDT to leave even more of a lasting impression on the industry going forward.
Author’s take
There are clearly many similarities between Jake Roberts and Bray Wyatt. Both men work primarily on the psychological manipulation of their opponents, and both are able to stand out as one the greatest talkers of their respective generation.
With Wyatt in a more than uncertain position going into this Sunday’s Great Balls of Fire PPV, the Eater of Worlds is definitely in need of some assistance to help him achieve that next level. Roberts would be the ideal tutor for him in this regard.
While it should be acknowledged that today’s WWE product is a different animal to the one that made Jake Roberts into a star, there are some skills and techniques that simply stand the test of time. Whether it is Bray or another superstar entirely that he ends up working with, Jake Roberts will always have something invaluable to offer if given the chance.
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